Death and Life in the Tenth Century

"The tenth century knew well in its course the evils of the world, the flesh, and the devil: battle, murder, and devastation; palgue, pestilence, and famine; rebellion and riot; fornication and lust in places high and low, secular and sacred, ignorance, bruatlity, silence, and despair. But the tenth century also knew good. Religion, art, and literature all flourished in this dark period. If the defenders of empire and papacy were often weak or fractious, yet certain emperors and popes managed to re-create esteem for their respective institutions while staving off the attacks of barbarians, pretenders, independent nobles, and dissatisfied clergy. Culture and learning were just as much a part of the life of the Church and Court as were war and intrigue. In Death and Life in the Tenth Century, this vital and unique period of the Middle Ages is depicted by Eleanor Duckett, one of the twentieth century's most respected medieval scholars. She presents the history of the tenth century as seasons of the year: the approach of winter, with impetuous Charles the Fat and Arnulf of Bavaria helpless to stop the breakup of what was left of Charlemagne's empire; winter, with Louis the Child, king at six and dead at eighteen, and Conrad of Franconia, courageous but ineffectual; spring, with Henry the Fowler, who reunited the duchies of Germany and subdued the barbarians; spring into summer, with Otto I, whose wise administration strengthened his empire and won him Italy, and Otto II, whose ambition almost lost him both; summer, with Otto III, whose death left unrealized the great dream of a Holy Roman Empire. In the second half of her book, Dr. Duckett considers the cultural harvest of the tenth century and the men and women who sowed and reaped that harvest. She writes of chroniclers such as Widukind, author of Saxon History, and Liutprand of Cremona, witty scholar and vengeful historian; she writes of religious figures such as Odo of Cluny, who personally reformed monasteries all over Europe. She presents poets and poems, sacred and secular, in Latin and in her own sensitive English translations; she presents dramas and dramatists such as the nun Hrotsvitha, who strove to write Christian plays in the style of Terence's comedies. She discusses painting, sculpture, architecture, and manuscripts; and finally, she speaks of the scholars such as Bishop Notker, who took his pupils along on all his journeys, and Bishop Everacle, who knew about eclipses- men who did their best to spread knowledge in an age of superstition and nescience."

The title makes the tenth century sound so depressing and dull, but the text makes the tenth century come back to life. Great stories about great figures from the past. The author has a knack for pulling you in and making you want to know what happened next. A great survey of the time period, it gives your that big picture of how different events relate to one another while making them intriguing at the same time. If you have any interest in this time period, or wonder if you should, find a copy of this book!